American Go E-Journal

Gansheng Shi 7d and Aaron Ye 4d placed first in the Redmond Cup qualifiers, held online over the past few months. The Senior Division, for kids aged 12-17, was dominated by Shi, a 17 year old Canadian, who won the Redmond in 2008 and 2009. He was undefeated in the qualifier, but faced very strong competition from his own country, with Tianyu Lin 7d, age 14, and Jianing Gan 7d, age 15, almost making it to the finals. From the U.S., three-time Redmond champion Calvin Sun 7d, age 14, fought his way into the top four. Sun got off to a a rough start, losing in rounds 2 and 3, but then rallied, defeating both Gan and Lin in a playoff to earn the right to face Shi at the Go Congress. In the Junior Division, for kids under the age of 12, nine-year-old Aaron Ye 4d was undefeated. He faced strong competition from a bevy of pint-sized prodigies in the Bay Area, including last years USYGC champion Kevin Fang. It was Sammy Zhang 2d, age 11, who held his ground though, making it to the finals for the upcoming playoff at the Congress. All four finalists have won a free trip to the US Go Congress, to compete for the Redmond Cup. The final matches will be held on July 31, Aug. 2, and Aug. 4, at 3p PST, and will be broadcast live on KGS.– E.J. Youth Editor, Paul Barchilon.The Members Edition of the E-Journal includes a game review of Sun’s final match with Lin by Feng Yun 9P. Sun catches a large dragon to make a decisive win, but Feng Yun shows us how Lin could have escaped with a throw-in. To get the EJ Member’s Edition,click here for details on AGA membership.